Ethnicity and crime Flashcards
1
Q
whats percentage of ethnic groups make up the UK population?
A
white - 87%
black - 3%
asian - 7%
other - 3%
2
Q
what percentage of ethnic groups make up the convictions in the UK?
A
white - 73%
black - 8%
asian - 5%
other - 14%
3
Q
what is the average custodial sentence for different ethnic groups in the UK in months?
A
white - 15.9
black - 23.4
asian - 22.4
other - n/a
4
Q
what can be suggested from the statistics about ethnic differences and crime?
A
- black are the minority of the total pop but have the longest custodial sentences
- white have the highest amount of convictions but lowest custodial sentence rate
5
Q
what don’t statistics tell us?
A
whether p’s from one group are more likely to commit an offence in the first place
6
Q
what are 2 alternative sources of statistics?
A
- victim surveys (p’s asked if they’ve been a victim and to what)
- self report studies (p’s asked if they’ve committed a crime)
7
Q
what stats are there about black p’s involvement with the police?
A
- 7x more likely to be stop and searched
- 4x more likely to experience police force
- 3.5x more likely to be arrested
- 5x more likely to be imprisoned
8
Q
what are the findings of victim surveys?
A
- black p’s are over represented among offenders
- shows a lot of crime is intra-ethnic
9
Q
what are the findings of self report studies?
A
- blacks and whites had similar rates of offending
- asians had a much lower rate of offending
10
Q
what are the strengths of self report studies and victim surveys?
A
- looks at unreported crime
- avoids police bias
- anonymous: more likely to be truthful
- surveys can be reused (reliable)
- preferred by positivists
11
Q
what are the weaknesses of self report studies and victim surveys?
A
- rely on p’s being truthful
- self reports might use deception, unethical
- aren’t live, out of date, low temporal validity
- p’s can interpret questions differently
12
Q
according to Bowling and Phillips what are the stages of the CJS?
A
- stop and search
- arrests and cautions
- prosecution and trials
- convictions
- prison
13
Q
what are the differences in ethnicities with stop and search?
A
- more likely ethnic minorities
- black 7x more likely than white
- asian over 2x as likely as white
- asians more likely to be stopped under terrorism act than white
- blacks more often involved in taser incidents
14
Q
what can cause ethnic differences in stop and search?
A
- selective policing
- demographic factors
- police racism
- stereotypes fueled by media
15
Q
what are the ethnic differences in arrests and cautions?
A
- 3x more blacks than white (2014)
- black and asian less likely to receive cautions
- black / asian more likely to get custodial sentence
- EM more likely to deny charges and request legal advice
- white criminality is invisible compared to EM criminality
- EM more likely to commit crimes that raise visibility to authority
16
Q
what ethnic differences are there in prosecution and trial?
A
- CPS more likely to drop cases against EM
- when EM cases go ahead, EM more likely to elect for trial in front of a jury
- jury’s are normal people
- less chance of institutional racism
17
Q
what are the ethnic differences in convictions and sentencing?
A
- asian / black defendants less likely found guilty
- when found guilty they serve longer sentences
- usually 4+ years
18
Q
what is the ethnic differences in prison?
A
- 1/4 of prison pop is EM (2014)
- black 4x more likely to be in jail than white
among british nationals in jail:
- 5.5 per 1000 black
- 1.6 per 1000 asian
- 1.4 per 1000 whites
19
Q
what was ethnic differences and crime like in 1970’s?
A
general agreement that EM had lower crime rates than white
20
Q
what was ethnic differences and crime like in mid 1970’s?
A
- increased conflict between police and african carribeans
- higher arrest rates for street crime
- increased black criminality
21
Q
what was ethnic differences and crime like in the 1990’s?
A
- crime by asian is viewed as a problem
- concerns about growth of ‘asian gangs’
- 9/11 confirmed fears of asians specifically muslims as the enemy within
22
Q
what are the 2 explanations for ethnic differences in stats?
A
- left realism
- neo marxism
23
Q
how do left realists describe ethnic differences in stats?
A
lea and young:
- black crime for some offences is higher than white
- due to marginalisation and discrimination
- relative deprivation = legitimate routes blocked
- these create subcultures mainly in young black males which increases street crimes
24
Q
how does left realist approaches explain utilitarian crimes?
A
- p’s lack access to materials
- commit crime for monetry gain
- gain material illegitimately
25
how does the left realist approach explain non utilitarian crimes?
To gain acceptance / reinstate masculinity / status they lose from society, they re gain it in subcultures through crime
26
what do Lea and Young say about police and racism?
- police often act in racist ways
- this results in unjustified criminalisation
- however this can't fully explain ethnic differences as 90% of crimes are reported by public
- stats show real differences caused by real differences in marginalisation and relative deprivation
27
what does the neo marxist Gilroy say about stats?
- do not reflect reality
| - they're socially constructed to stereotype EM as criminal
28
what does neo marxist Gilroy say about black criminality
- myth of black criminality
- created by racist stereotypes
- police and CJS act on these stereotypes
- EM then make up more stats and seem more criminal
29
according to neo marxist Gilroy what was black crimes caused by?
- 1970's: black crime was political action
- represented a culture of resistance to inequality and oppression
- EM crime is political resistance against racism
- resistance originated against British imperialism
- EM carry the weight of historical violence e.g slavery
30
what happened when EM experiences racism in Britain according to neo marxist Gilroy?
- they adopted an anti-imperialistic form of resistance to defend them self
- their political struggle was criminalised by British state
31
what examples can you support neo marxist Gilroys idea of political resistance to?
- black lives matter movement
| - rose parks
32
whats the weaknesses of neo marxist approach?
- first generation immigrants (1950's and 60's) were law abiding
- unlikely they passed down anti-colonial attitudes to kids
- most crime is intra-ethnic
- can't be seen as anti-colonial struggle against racism
33
what did neo marxist Hall state happened in the 1970's?
- british capitalism faced a crisis of hegemony due to political and economic issues
- high inflation and rising unemployment = protests, strikes and conflict in northern Ireland
- media driven moral panic about the growth of 'mugging'
34
describe neo marxist Hall's idea of the black mugger
- media, politicians and police associated mugging with black youth
- black mugger was a scapegoat to distract attention from unemployment
- black mugger symbolised disintegration in social order
35
what did the idea of the black mugger cause in britain according to neo marxist hall?
- appeared british life was under threat
- moral panic divided w/c on racial grounds
- weakened opposition to capitalism
- created hostility between CJS/ police and EM
36
what did neo marxist hall say the crisis of capitalism created?
- increasingly marginalised black youths through unemployment
- this led to hustling and petty crimes
37
what were the wider origins of the deviant act - 'policing the crisis'
britain faced a crisis of hegemony due to political and economic problems
38
what was neo marxist halls theory?
policing the crisis
39
what were the immediate origins of the deviant act - 'policing the crisis'
moral panic
40
what was the act itself - 'policing the crisis'
- street crime
- mugging
- robbery
- violence
41
what was the immediate origins of the social reaction - 'policing the crisis'
- marginalisation
- segregation
- police racism
42
what are the wider origins of the social reaction - 'policing the crisis'
- disintegration of social order
| - british life under threat
43
what were the effects of labelling ' 'policing the crisis'
- increased hostility and marginalisation
- hustling and petty crimes
- self fulfilling prophecy
44
what are the strengths of the neo marxist approach?
- shows the micro and macro approaches
- not outdated
- proves bougeoisie uses ideology to manipulate masses
45
what are the weaknesses of neo marxism?
- stop and search can be good, it can stop future crimes
| - Hall claimed black crime wasn't rising, then contradicted and said it was due to unemployment
46
what is a more recent approach than neo marxism?
fitzgerald (2013):
| - neighbourhood factors could explain the higher reporting of black crime
47
what is racist victimisation?
occurs when p is selected as a target because of their race, ethnicity or religion
48
what evidence is there about racist victimisation?
2015 - Dylan Roof killed 9 African american during bible study in texas
brenton Tarrant - killed 51 in christchurch shooting in new zealand
49
what are the chances of ethnic groups facing racist victimisation?
mixed ethnic background - 27.9%
blacks - 18%
asians - 15.8%
whites - 15.7%
